Great litterateur Gnanou Diagou

 Great litterateur Gnanou Diagou

Great men and great deeds may get lost in the sands of history. But a grateful society leaves monuments for successive generations to remember  them with gratitude.

Behind every monument there is a history. A statue at the Pondicherry Government Hospital reminds us of the donor who gifted the land for its construction. The  clock tower of grand Bazaar also rekindles memories of its donor, the grandfather of an illustrious, son of the soil, Le Bottennier Gnanou Diagou.

 The 127^th birth anniversary of Le Boutonnière Gnanou Diagou, a man of letters and philanthropist falls on August 15. Not just the monuments but Gnanou Diagou’s contribution to Tamil Literature has been forgotten by the literary world and local population. His French translations of Kamba Ramayanam, Araneri Saaram, Assara Kovai, Nanmani Kadigai, Naladiar and the Thirukural are everlasting contributions that must be lauded by a grateful society. Sir CP Ramaswamy Iyer, in the foreword written to the French Translation of the Thirukural lauds thus, ‘‘Mr Gnanou Diagou’s rendering of Thiruvalluvar’s Kural into French is important and significant to international cultural collaboration.’

Gnanou Diagou, born on August 15, 1877, was an eminent lawyer and served as the president of Bar association. For nearly three decades he taught students of the Ecole de Droit Pondicherry as Professor of Law and wrote several Books on Hindu and Mohammedan law. He was also a popular political leader of Pondicherry from 1908 to 1925. He founded The Historical Society and left his imprint as its Vice President from 1911 till his son Cojande Dairianathan succeeded him in 1948.

 The conferment of honours initiated by Napolean Bonaparte in 1802 has the following titles of honour similar to our padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan and Padmasri. Grand Officier da la Legion d’ honneur is the first in rank. The second one is Chevalier de la legion d’ honneur. This was conferred on meritorious people for social service and the French government in recognition of his services had honoured him by conferring the second medal of honour, The Legion of Honour, on January 15, 1920. He also won awards like Officier d’ Academie and Chevalier du merite agricole. A member of the Counseil General, the the French version of the Legislative assembly with limited powers, he served the public. 

Gnanou Diagou was the descendent of one of the oldest and distinguished ‘‘Dubash’’ families of Pondicherry. Lazario De Motha Tanappa Modeliar, the illustrious ancestor of Gnanou Diagou had collaborated with Francois Martin in 1673 in the very foundation of the French settlement in Pondicherry. His successors Moutiappa Modeliar and his son Pedro canagaraya Modeliar were no less distinguished. Pedro Canagaraya  Modeliar was the recipient of the gold medal from Louis XV, King of France, for his good offices in securing Karaikal from the Maharaja of Tanjore in 1739. There is a street named after him that in current days called Canteen Street, though in name it exists in street boards. His son Diagou Modeliar, the grandfather of Gnanou Diagou, erected the clock tower in the Grand Bazaar apart from many choultries to feed the poor. The Street parallel to Nehru Street is named after Diagou Modeliar.

 Hailing from such an illustrious family, Gnanou Diagou scaled greater heights in public esteem through his literary works . He wanted to preserve the history of Pondicherry and was instrumental in having the manuscript of Ananda Ranga Pillai’s diaries copied from the original for publication purposes. He analyzed the decisions of the Superior Council from 1735 to 1820, the work of almost a century, and published them in eight volumes. He has written an authoritative book on General de lally, the  unlucky successor of Dupleix in whose period the entire white town including the Palace of Dupleix was destroyed.

 History is not a mere record of the events of the past. It has a meaning to be learnt. The acts of philanthropy are lauded to inculcate in the present generation such noble qualities. The intercultural exchange by taking the essence of Tamil classical literature to French, as done by Gnanou Diagou, is an incomplete mission for every generation of writers.

Courtesy: The New Indian Express-week end-14.08.2004